Tablet dispenser

ABSTRACT

A dispenser for solid dosage form pharmaceutical preparations which are administered on a regular chronologic schedule. Typically, the dispenser is used for the storage and dispensing of oral contraceptive drugs. The dispenser comprises a base disk having a plurality of circumferentially spaced tablet dispenser apertures, an intermediate table disk, having a corresponding plurality of frangible tablet receptacles, and an overlying locator disk. The locator disk also has a corresponding plurality of apertures and, when the three disks are assembled in superposed, operative relation, each tablet receptacle extends upwardly through one of the apertures in the locator disk. Each tablet is oriented in a vertical position within its own tablet receptacle. Appropriate chronologic indicia are positioned on the base disk to permit alignment of the tablet and locator disks to the particular menstrual cycle of the user. Locking means are provided to secure the tablet and locator disks in the desired orientation and superposed relation with respect to the base disk.

United States Patent Richardson et al.

[4 1 Mar. 28, E972 Primary Examiner-Leonard Summer Att0rney-Chittick,Pfund, Birch, Samuels & Gauthier A dispenser for solid dosage formpharmaceutical preparations which are administered on a regularchronologic schedule. Typically, the dispenser is used for the storageand dispensing of oral contraceptive drugs. The dispenser comprises abase disk having a plurality of circumferentially spaced tabletdispenser apertures, an intermediate table disk, having a correspondingplurality of frangible tablet receptacles, and an overlying locatordisk. The locator disk also has a corresponding plurality of aperturesand, when the three disks are assembled in superposed, operativerelation, each tablet receptacle extends upwardly through one of theapertures in the locator disk. Each tablet is oriented in a verticalposition within its own tablet receptacle. Appropriate chronologicindicia are positioned on the base disk to permit alignment of thetablet and locator disks to the particular menstrual cycle of the user.Locking means are provided to secure the tablet and locator disks in thedesired orientation and superposed relation with respect to the basedisk.

ABSTRACT 5 Claims, 21 Drawing Figures PATENTEDmaza I972 SHEET 1 [)F 5 INVENTOR.

PATENTED m1 2 8 I972 SHEET 2 BF 5 INVENTOR.

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SHEET 3 [IF 5 TURN HANDLE UNTIL THE FIRST DAY OF YOUR PERIOD APPEARS INTHE WINDOW INVENTOR.

m WM M M PM PATENTfmzaazaxerz 3.651.927

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PATENTEB m 3 2; I972 THE FIRST DAY OF YOUR PERIOD APPEARS IN THIS WWINDOW s INVENTOR.

Giza W mLL LMJL 39% TABLET DISPENSER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION must betaken in accordance with a predetermined chronological order hasstimulated the dispensing industry to produce a wide variety of tabletdispensers. Representative examples of such dispensers are found in theUS. Pats. No. to Wagner, 3,143,207, Ruoss et.al., 3,199,489, Kaufmanet.al., 3,276,573, Finkelston, Jr., et.al., 3,302,775 and Ballard,3,303,927.

Ideally, any dispenser for solid form oral contraceptives should conformto a number of easily defined, but collectively difficult to implement,parameters. For example, the dispenser should provide a chronological orcalendar indication of the time cycle within which the drugs are to betaken. Means should be provided for adjusting the tablet container withrespect to the chronological or calendar indicia to synchronize the drugregimen to the users particular menstrual cycle. In order to minimizethe total cost to the consumer over a number of contraceptive drugadministration cycles, the basic dispenser should be refillable and,preferably, refillable by the user. Suitable indexing means should beprovided to insure correct positioning of a replacement tabletcontainer. From an aesthetic standpoint, the overall size of thedispenser should be kept to a minimum and the configuration of thedispenser should resemble a ladies compact.

It is accordingly a basic object of present invention to provide a solidform oral contraceptive dispenser which generally fulfills theabove-defined parameters.

It is a specific object of the invention to provide such a dispenser ata reasonable cost to the consumer.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a dispenser inwhich accidental or inadvertent dispensing of a tablet out of sequenceis substantially precluded and, if it does occur, it readily apparent tothe user.

In the accomplishment of these objects, we provide a dispensercomprising a base disk having a plurality of circumferentially spacedtablet dispensing apertures, a replaceable overlying tablet disk, and alocator disk positioned above the tablet disk. The tablet disk has aplurality of circumferentially spaced, upstanding, frangible tabletreceptacles each containing one tablet dosage of the oral contraceptive.Each tablet is placed within the receptacle in a vertical position tominimize the size of the dispenser and to facilitate ejection of thetablet through the frangible material of the tablet disk. A rotatablelocator disk having a corresponding plurality of apertures is positionedover the tablet disk so that the tablet receptacles extend upwardlythrough and beyond the locator disk apertures. The locator disk andtablet disk can be rotated together as a unit to orient a beginning ofcycle index on the locator disk to the appropriate chronologic orcalendar indicia on the face disk. The rotatable orientation operationis necessary to adjust the dispenser to the users particular menstrualcycle. Locking means are provided to lock the base tablet and locatordisks in superposed relation after the correct orientation has beenobtained for the user's current menstrual cycle.

These objects and other objects and features of the present inventionwill best be understood from a detailed description of a preferredembodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration, and shown inthe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tablet dispenser constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the dispenser base and cover shown in the openposition;

FIG. 3 is a view in cross-section taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the tablet disk for a 20-day regimen;

FIG. 5 is a view in cross-section of the tablet disk taken along line5-5 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a 20-day regimen locator disk and associateddisk locking mechanisms;

FIG. 7 is a view in cross-section of the locking mechanism taken alongline 7-7 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the tablet diskfor a 2 1-day regimen;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the locator disk and associated lockingmechanism for a 21-day regimen;

FIGS. 10 through 12 are views in cross-section showing the ejection of atablet from the tablet disk by depressing the locking mechanism;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the dispenserbase;

FIG. 14 is a view in cross-section taken along line 1414 in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a 20-day regimen tablet disk for use in thedispenser base shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a plan view of a locator disk and locking mechanism for usein the dispenser base shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 17 is a view in cross-section taken along line 17-17 in FIG. 16showing the locking mechanism;

FIGS. 18 and 19 show in cross-section the operation of the locator disklocking mechanism;

FIG. 20 is a side elevation of a portion of the dispenser base showingthe relationship of the locator disk locking mechanism to the base diskapertures; and

FIG. 21 is a view in partial section showing the locking mechanism inthe locked position.

Turning now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof,there is shown in perspective view a compact styled tablet dispenserconstructed in accordance with the present invention and indicatedgenerally by the reference numeral 10. For aesthetic reasons, the tabletdispenser 10 is constructed to resemble a ladies cosmetic compact with agenerally circular base member 12 and a correspondingly shaped hingedcover 14. Although a separate hinge can be used to join the base andcover, in the preferred embodiment the base and cover are molded as asingle unit from plastic with an integral plastic living hinge 16. Africtionally fitted mirror 18 is located within the cover 14 so thedispenser can serve both as a makeup mirror and a tablet dispenser.Since the dispenser is approximately 2% inches in diameter, the usershand will hide the tablets so that the dispenser can be used as a handmirror without causing embarrassment.

The relatively small size of the dispenser 10, compared to many otheroral contraceptive dispensers, is made possible by the novel verticalpositioning of the tablets within the dispenser. This feature of theinvention also produces other significant advantages which will bediscussed below in connection with the description of the majoroperative components of the tablet dispenser.

The tablet dispenser 10 can be divided into three major operativecomponents. Looking at FIGS. 2 through 7, the first component is thepreviously mentioned base member or disk 12 (FIGS. 2 and 3), the secondmajor component is a tablet disk 20 which contains a plurality ofejectable tablets 22 (FIGS. 4 and 5) and, finally, the third majorcomponent is a locator disk 24 (FIGS. 6 and 7). The base member 12 has agenerally round shape with a circular central recess 26. Within therecess 26 are at least 21 circumferentially spaced tablet dispensingapertures 28. If more than 21 tablet dispensing apertures are used, thetotal number of apertures should be divisible by seven to provide properadministration of the oral contraceptive dosage cycle.

A corresponding plurality of chronologically arranged daily indicia 30are located around the periphery of the dispensing apertures on theshoulder 32 of the base disk. Each daily indicia 30 is radially alignedwith one of the tablet dispensing apertures 28, as shown in FIG. 2. Thechronologically arranged daily indicia 30 cover at least 21 consecutivedays of the week which are identified by standard abbreviations e.g.MON, TUE, etc. Various methods can be employed for placing the dailyindicia 30 on the base disk shoulder 32. For instance, suitable methodsinclude printing, screening, embossing, hot stamping, engraving, andmolded raised or depressed letters.

The remaining elements of the base member 12 can best be understood byrelating them to the tablet disk 20 and the locator disk 24.Accordingly, we will now described in detail the second and third majorcomponents of our tablet dispenser. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, thetablet disk 20 is depicted in plan view and cross-section, respectively.The tablet disk comprises a planar circular closure member 34, aplurality of tablet receptacle defining, deformable blisters 36, and acorresponding plurality of tablets 22 positioned within the blisters. Inthe preferred configuration, the tablet disk 20 is manufactured as aconventional blister package having a thermo or vacuum formed blistersheet 38 and a frangible closure layer 40, such as, thin aluminum foilsealed thereto. Prior to sealing the closure layer to the blister sheet,the pharmaceutical preparation tablets are machine loaded into theblister formed tablet receptacles 42. Although conventional blisterpackaging is preferred for obvious economic reasons, the invention isnot limited to this particular form of packaging.

Conceptually, the tablet disk 20 can have a plurality of individual,erect, deformable blisters which are secured to the planar, circularclosure member 34. The closure member must be frangible at least underthe areas covered by the deformable blisters to permit ejection of thetablet from the blister. Given these requirements, separate blisters andseparate frangible closure layer areas can be used, but a single blistersheet and a single frangible closure layer are certainly much moredesirable.

The blisters 36 are arranged in a spaced, circumferential configurationwith the axis of each blister aligned with a radius of the tablet disk.The erect, deformable blisters define the previously mentioned tabletreceptacles 42. Looking at FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, it can be seen that thetablets are positioned vertically on edge within the blisters. The planeof each tablet is radially aligned and normal to the plane of theclosure member 34. The vertical positioning of the tablets produces anumber of significant advantages. I

It has already been mentioned that this arrangement permits a reductionin the overall size of the tablet dispenser. The size reduction isparticularly effective with respect to the diameter" of the generallyround dispenser. Another important advantage of the vertical positioningof the tablets is that much less force is required to rupture thefrangible, blister closure material. With the tablet positionedvertically on edge, the force exerted by the users finger in deformingthe blister is transmitted to the edge of the tablet. Since the area ofthe tablet in contact with the frangible closure material isconsiderably smaller than if the tablet were lying flat in a horizontalposition, substantially greater pressure is applied to the frangiblematerial. Thus, for a given closure material rupture pressure, lessforce has to be exerted upon the blister and tablet to eject the tabletif the tablet is positioned vertically on edge in the blister.

A concomitant advantage of this relationship is the reduction inaccidental cracking of the tablet during ejection. It has been foundthat tablets are more susceptible to cracking if they are pressed on thegenerally flat surface of the tablet than if they are pressed on thenarrow edge. This difference is attributable to the shape of the tabletand to a certain extent to the manufacturing processes employed informing the tablet. However, regardless of the cause, the differentialdirectional strength of the tablet is a factor to be considered indesigning an effective dispenser. The tablet dispenser as an inventionutilizes the greater tablet strength in the plane of the tablet byblister packing the tablets in a vertical on-edge position, as shown inFIGS. 1, 4 and 5.

The particular vertically mounted, side profile of the tablets is notespecially significant. For instance, the tablets shown in FIGS. 1, 4and 5 are circular. However, this configuration is merely illustrativeand other tablet shapes can be employed. At the present time, some oralcontraceptive tablets have relatively straight sides, and when viewed inthe plan, resemble a pentagon or hexagon. Such tablets, if mountedvertically on edge, can be used with equal benefit in the tablet disk ofthe present invention.

Referring back now to the drawings and specifically to FIGS. 6 and 7,the locator disk 24 is depicted in plan view and cross-section,respectively. Preferably, the locator disk is molded from plasticalthough other materials can, of course, be used to construct the disk.Arranged around the circumference of the locator disk are radiallyaligned apertures 44 which are designed to receive the tablet diskblisters 36 when the two disks are assembled in superposed relation, asshown in FIG. 1. Looking at FIG. 1, it can be seen that the blisters 36extend upwardly through and beyond the locator disk apertures 44 andwith a snug fit therein. Thus, in the assembled position, the two diskswill rotate as a single unit.

The locator disk 24 has an integrally formed, downwardly depending shaft46 that is aligned with the axis of the locator disk. The shaft axis isthe center of rotation for both the locator and tablet disks when thedisks are assembled in superposed relationship and fitted within thecentral recess 26 of the base member, as shown in FIG. 1.

Looking at FIGS. 4 and 5, the tablet disk 20 has a central, axiallyaligned aperture 48. The diameter of the tablet disk aperture 48 isslightly greater than the normal outside diameter of the locator diskshaft 46 and slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the shaftshoulders 50. Thus, the tablet disk can be force-fitted over the shaftshoulders 50 and then will be free to rotate with the locator disk. Thenow assembled locator and tablet disks are placed within the centralrecess of the base member and the shoulders of the locator disk shaft 46are forced through a central aperture 52 in the base member. After beingforced through the base member aperture 52, the locator disk shaftshoulders 50 spring back to their normal diameter and hold the tabletand locator disks in rotatable, superposed relation with respect to thebase member. The assembled relationship of the three major components ofthe tablet dispenser 10 can best be seen in the tablet ejection sequencedepicted in FIGS. 10 through 12.

With the two disks assembled in rotatable, superposed relation withinthe base member central recess, the tablet and locator disks can berotated to set the dispenser for the users particular menstrual cycle.Cycle synchronization is achieved by referencing the rotatable disks tothe day on which the current menstrual cycle began. In the preferredembodiment depicted in FIGS. 1 through 7, the disks are rotated untilthe correct beginning of cycle daily indicia 54 is visible through thealigned windows 56 and 58 in the tablet and locator disks, respectively.When this is done, a first tablet indicator 60 locates the first tabletto be taken and the base member daily indicia 30 identifies theparticular day of the week upon which the first tablet is to be taken.

The presently used oral contraceptive regimens call for medication tobegin on the 5th day of the cycle, counting the day the cycle began asday 1. Looking at FIG. 1, it can be seen that the beginning of cycleindicia FRI" appears in the windows and the first tablet indicatorpoints to TUE" which is day 5 of the cycle.

Two additionalfeatures are provided in the tablet dispenser tofacilitate setting the dispenser in synchronism with the user'sparticular cycle and to prevent accidental rotation of the disks oncethey have been set to the correct position. Referring to FIGS. 1, 6 and7, the locator disk is provided with a handle 62 which is curved toconform to the shape of the users finger. The curved shape of handle 62indicates to the user that the disk should be rotated in a clockwisedirection. However, unlike many existing contraceptive tabletdispensers, the disks can be turned backwards if the user goes too farin rotating the disk to set the dispenser to her particular menstrualcycle.

Once the dispenser has been set, it is desirable to prevent subsequentrotation of the disks. A suitable tablet-locator disk locking mechanismis provided in each embodiment of the invention to prevent suchrotation. Looking at FIGS. 1, 6 and 7, it can be seen that a lockinglever 64 extends outwardly from the upper extension of the locator diskshaft 46. The junction between the locking lever and the shaft permitsdownward deflection of the locking lever during the locking operation.

Sufficient flexibility at the junction can be obtained by undercutting aportion of the locking lever as shown in FIGS. 1, 7 and 1042. In thepreferred embodiment, the locking lever is molded from plastic as anintegral unit with the locator disk 24 and handle 62. With this type ofconstruction, sufficient flexibility and resiliency can be achieved toallow downward deflection of the locking lever to the locked positionwhile providing an upward force to maintain the lever in the lockedposition. The locking operation is accomplished by means of a downwardlydepending latch 66 located near the distal end of the locking lever. Thelatch extends downwardly through apertures 68 and 70 in the locator andtablet disks, respectively. In the unlocked position, the latch does notengage the base member and the two disks are free to rotate about thecommon axis of the base member tablet disk and locator disk. Theoperation of the latch can best be understood from the sequential viewsof the latching movement shown in FIGS. 10-12. It should be noted thatalthough FIGS. 10-12 illustrate another embodiment of the tablet andlocator disks, the latch construction and latching operation are thesame as for the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-7. When the disks have beenpositioned to synchronize the dispenser to the users menstrual cycle,the disks are locked by pushing down on the locking lever which in turncauses the latch to project downwardly through the latch aperture in thebase member. The release of the downward pressure causes the lever andlatch to spring back in an upwardly direction thereby locking the latchshoulder 74 against the bottom surface of the base member.

With the dispenser set to the correct position for the users cycle andlocked in this position, the dispenser is now ready to dispense thefirst sequential tablet. The user presses down on the blister containingthe first tablet i.e., the blister aligned with the first tablet indicia60 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. Further deformation of the blister forcesthe tablet 22 down against the closure material 34 until the materialruptures thereby releasing the tablet which drops out of the dispenserthrough the base member tablet dispensing aperture 28. On the followingday the user ejects the next tablet and, thereafter, proceeds in aclockwise direction until all 20 tablets in the tablet disk have beenused.

One feature of the present invention is that it is extremely difficultfor a woman to eject a single tablet in the wrong sequence. This featureis a concomitant of the close tablet spacing that is obtained byvertically mounting the tablets on their edges. The spacing of thetablets around the circumference of the tablet disk is such that awoman's forefinger normally covers at least two of the blisters. It istherefore only possible to eject one tablet if that tablet is positionedimmediately adjacent to a deformed, empty blister or is adjacent to thelocking lever 64. Thus, if the woman ejects the first tablet, thespacing of the tablets will thereafter force her to eject tablets in thecorrect clockwise sequence.

The preceding description has been directed to a 20-day regimen for theoral contraceptive tablets. However, other regimens can be used with thetablet dispenser of the present invention. Currently, oral contraceptiveregimens include a 21 day administration cycle. The dispenser 10 can beadapted for a 21 day regimen by changing the tablet disk 20 and theinstructions on the locator disk 24.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown in plan view a tablet disk 76 having21 tablets 22 positioned within the blisters 36. The 21 day tablet disk76 has the same locking lever aperture 70 as the 20 day tablet disk 20,but without the beginning of cycle indicia window 56. Synchronization ofthe assembled 21 day tablet disk 76 and the locator disk 24 isaccomplished by rotating the disks until a beginning of cycle index 78on the locator disk is aligned with the base member daily indicia 30which corresponds to the beginning day of the womans menstrual cycle.The beginning of cycle index 78 is positioned 4 days counterclockwisefrom the first tablet indicator 30, in this case, located on the lockinglever 64. Thus, the first tablet will be taken on day 5 of the cycle,counting the beginning day of the cycle as day 1.

In the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 8 through 12, the locking lever 64performs a dual function upon depression: first, it ejects the first daytablet located under the lever; and, second, it locks the tablet andlocator disks with respect to the base member. The tablet ejection andlocking sequence is depicted in cross-section in FIGS. 10 through 12.

FIGS. 13 through 18 illustrate another embodiment of the invention for a20 day regimen. This embodiment utilizes a different locking mechanismand provides a click" stop rotation for the tablet and locator disks.Referring to FIG. 13, the base member 12 is the same as the base membershown in FIGS. 2 and 3, with the omission of the locking latch apertures72. Similarly, the tablet disk 82 shown in FIG. 15 resembles the tabletdisk Zil'illustrated in FIG. 3 with certain exceptions. In particular,the tablet disk 82 has an inwardly extending slot 84 located in theposition formerly occupied by one of the tables 22. A beginning of cycleindicia window 86 is oriented on the tablet disk to display one of thebeginning of cycle indicia 54 printed on the underlying base member 12.

A slightly different locator disk 88 is used in conjunction with the 20day tablet disk 82. Looking at FIG. 16, the locator disk 88 has abeginning of cycle indicia window 90 and a first tablet indicator 92.The angular disposition of the window 90 with respect to the firsttablet indicator 92 is selected to position the first tablet indicatorfour days after the beginning of the cycle day shown through window 90.Thus, the first tablet indicator will indicate medication to be taken onday 5 of the users cycle.

The locking mechanism for this particular embodiment of the tabletdispenser is depicted in FIGS. 16 through 21. The locking mechanismcomprises a flexible stop member 94 which is preferably formed as anintegral part of the locator disk 88. Flexibility of the stop member 94with respect to the plane of the locator disk 88 is achieved by removingsome of the material at the junction of the stop member and disk, asshown in FIGS. 17, 18 and 19. The stop member 94 has a downwardlydepending latch 96 with an outwardly extending latch shoulder 98 locatedat the distal end thereof. When the stop member is depressed, the latch96 extends downwardly through the slot 84 in the underlying tablet disk82 and into the base disk tablet dispensing aperture 28. Furtherdownward travel of the stop member causes the latch shoulder 98 to clearthe bottom surface of the base member. At this point, the latch springsoutwardly locking the latch shoulder 98 against the base member 12.

It has already been mentioned that click stop rotation of the tablet andlocator disks is provided in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 through21. This type of incremental rotation is achieved by having the stopmember 94 ride upwardly and over the base member web 100 between eachtablet dispensing aperture 28. Looking at FIG. 20, it can be seen thatthe rounded bottom of the stop member extends below the upper surface ofthe base member central recess 26 in the unlocked position. Thus, as thetwo disks are rotated, the user will feel some rotational resistance asthe rounded portion of the stop member rides up and over the base memberweb 100. When the stop member moves over and beyond the web, it willdrop back down into the next tablet dispensing aperture 28 therebycausing a click. It should also be noted that the seating of the stopmember, within the base member aperture 28, accurately aligns both thelocator and tablet disks to the base member.

Having described in detail a number of preferred embodiments of ourinvention, what we desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. A dispenser for dispensing tablets in a predetermined chronologicalsequence comprising:

A base member having at least 21 circumferentially spaced tabletdispensing apertures; and a corresponding plurality of chronologicaldaily indicia located around the periphery of and aligned with thetablet dispensing apertures, said indicia covering at least 2lconsecutive days of the week; A tablet disk comprising:

a planar circular closure member having a plurality of frangible,circumferentially spaced portions therein,

a plurality of circumferentially spaced, radially aligned, erect,deformable blisters positioned over and secured to the frangibleportions of the closure member, said blisters each defining a tabletreceptacle, and,

a corresponding plurality of tablets positioned vertically on edgewithin the tablet receptacles with the plane of each tablet beingradially aligned and normal to the plane of said circular closuremember;

A locator disk having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apertureswhich are of a sufficient size to permit the tablet disk blisters toextend upwardly through the apertures when the tablet and locator disksare assembled in superposed relation; 7

Means for holding the tablet and locator disks in rotatable, superposedrelation on said base member so that said disks can be rotated toposition the tablet containing blisters over the base member tabletdispensing apertures and in radial alignment with the chronologicaldaily indicia; and,

Means for releasably locking the tablet and locator disks to preventrotation with respect to the base member, said locking means cooperatingwith said tablet disk to eject one tablet from the dispenser when thelocking means is actuated.

2. The dispenser of claim 1 further characterized by said locking meansbeing carried on and rotatable with said locator disk.

3. The dispenser of claim 1 further characterized by said locking meansbeing carried on and rotatable with said locator disk and, a beginningof menstrual cycle index positioned on said locator disk with respect tosaid locking means so that when the index is aligned with the dailyindicia representing the day of the week on which the menstrual cyclebegan, the locking means will eject the tablet that is aligned with thedaily indicia which occurs four consecutive days later.

4. The dispenser of claim 1 further characterized by said tablet diskblisters being circumferentially spaced apart by a distance such thatthe user's forefinger normally covers at least two of the blisters.

5. A dispenser for dispensing tablets in a predetermined chronologicalsequence comprising: 1

A base member having at least 21 circumferentially spaced tabletdispensing apertures, a corresponding plurality of chronological dailyindicia located around the periphery of and aligned with the tabletdispensing apertures, said indicia covering at least 21 consecutive daysof the week; and at least 21 circumferentially spaced daily beginning ofmenstrual cycle indicia positioned inwardly from said tablet dispensingapertures;

A tablet disk comprising a planar circular closure member having aplurality of frangible, circumferentially spaced portions therein,

a plurality of circumferentially spaced, radially aligned, erect,deformable blisters positioned over and secured to the frangibleportions of the closure member, said blisters each defining a tabletreceptacle, and,

a corresponding plurality of tablets positioned vertically on edgewithin the tablet receptacles with the plane of each tablet beingradially aligned and normal to the plane of said circular closuremember;

A locator disk having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apertureswhich are of a sufficient size to permit the tablet disk blisters toextend upwardly through the apertures when the tablet and locator disksare assembled in superposed relation;

Means for holding the tablet and locator disks in rotatable, superposedrelation on said base member so that said disks can be rotated toosition the tablet containing bllsters over the base mem er tabletdispensing apertures and in radial alignment with the chronologicaldaily in dicia; and, said tablet and locator disks each having anaperture through which one of the beginning of cycle daily indicia isvisible when the disks are assembled in superposed relation on said basemember.

1. A dispenser for dispensing tablets in a predetermined chronologicalsequence comprising: A base member having at least 21 circumferentiallyspaced tablet dispensing apertures; and a corresponding plurality ofchronological daily indicia located around the periphery of and alignedwith the tablet dispensing apertures, said indicia covering at least 21consecutive days of the week; A tablet disk comprising: a planarcircular closure member having a plurality of frangible,circumferentially spaced portions therein, a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced, radially aligned, erect, deformable blisterspositioned over and secured to the frangible portions of the closuremember, Said blisters each defining a tablet receptacle, and, acorresponding plurality of tablets positioned vertically on edge withinthe tablet receptacles with the plane of each tablet being radiallyaligned and normal to the plane of said circular closure member; Alocator disk having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apertureswhich are of a sufficient size to permit the tablet disk blisters toextend upwardly through the apertures when the tablet and locator disksare assembled in superposed relation; Means for holding the tablet andlocator disks in rotatable, superposed relation on said base member sothat said disks can be rotated to position the tablet containingblisters over the base member tablet dispensing apertures and in radialalignment with the chronological daily indicia; and, Means forreleasably locking the tablet and locator disks to prevent rotation withrespect to the base member, said locking means cooperating with saidtablet disk to eject one tablet from the dispenser when the lockingmeans is actuated.
 2. The dispenser of claim 1 further characterized bysaid locking means being carried on and rotatable with said locatordisk.
 3. The dispenser of claim 1 further characterized by said lockingmeans being carried on and rotatable with said locator disk and, abeginning of menstrual cycle index positioned on said locator disk withrespect to said locking means so that when the index is aligned with thedaily indicia representing the day of the week on which the menstrualcycle began, the locking means will eject the tablet that is alignedwith the daily indicia which occurs four consecutive days later.
 4. Thedispenser of claim 1 further characterized by said tablet disk blistersbeing circumferentially spaced apart by a distance such that the user''sforefinger normally covers at least two of the blisters.
 5. A dispenserfor dispensing tablets in a predetermined chronological sequencecomprising: A base member having at least 21 circumferentially spacedtablet dispensing apertures, a corresponding plurality of chronologicaldaily indicia located around the periphery of and aligned with thetablet dispensing apertures, said indicia covering at least 21consecutive days of the week; and at least 21 circumferentially spaceddaily beginning of menstrual cycle indicia positioned inwardly from saidtablet dispensing apertures; A tablet disk comprising a planar circularclosure member having a plurality of frangible, circumferentially spacedportions therein, a plurality of circumferentially spaced, radiallyaligned, erect, deformable blisters positioned over and secured to thefrangible portions of the closure member, said blisters each defining atablet receptacle, and, a corresponding plurality of tablets positionedvertically on edge within the tablet receptacles with the plane of eachtablet being radially aligned and normal to the plane of said circularclosure member; A locator disk having a plurality of circumferentiallyspaced apertures which are of a sufficient size to permit the tabletdisk blisters to extend upwardly through the apertures when the tabletand locator disks are assembled in superposed relation; Means forholding the tablet and locator disks in rotatable, superposed relationon said base member so that said disks can be rotated to position thetablet containing blisters over the base member tablet dispensingapertures and in radial alignment with the chronological daily indicia;and, said tablet and locator disks each having an aperture through whichone of the beginning of cycle daily indicia is visible when the disksare assembled in superposed relation on said base member.